Figure Could Go Far Higher in Most Expensive Overhaul Ever

They may be cash poor as the recession continues, but that doesn’t stop the Obama Administration from continuing to spend, with a new scheme to spend hundreds of billions of dollars they don’t have on thousands of nuclear weapons they don’t need.

The “modernization” plan seeks to upgrade some 5,113 nuclear warheads as well as refurbishing nuclear weapons facilities and replace delivery systems for the weapons, each capable of wiping out a major city, and combined capable of destroying virtually the sum total of human civilization.

How do they get away with spending on something like this? In short they don’t even try to estimate the cost, and just start working. One think-tank, the Stimson Center, has estimated that the decade-long program will cost just over $350 billion.

Which is a lot, but probably too low, according to others familiar with the situation, saying that the plan to keep America’s planet-killing capability up and ready could go far higher and face myriad delays. The GAO also says the scheme in on “the high-risk list” for fraud, waste and abuse, pointing to exactly why officials are so eager to get the gravy train rolling and the money disappearing into this particular black hole.

It's nuts. If this were a private household, the owner would be dragged away to Big Spender Rehab. Examination of Mitt Romney's tax returns by a committee of progressives wouldn't pay for all that.

Choice extracts from WaPo article:

"Federal officials and many outside analysts are nonetheless convinced that, after years of delay, the government must invest huge sums if it is to maintain the air, sea and land nuclear triad on which the country has relied since the start of the Cold War."

"But parts of Los Alamos are in serious disrepair. Inside one critical building, pipes carrying dangerous wastewater are duct-taped together at the joints to plug leaks; plastic bags have been wrapped around the tape to trap seepage."

Right. The guy with the equivalent of a War Rolex on his arm is unable to perform the upkeep of the kitchen. This does not bode well for the lacklustre efforts at decontamination on the bomb production sites. Do the salmons in the Columbia River glow yet?

"“If water hits the floor, we treat it like a contaminated spill,” he said, adding that workers must mop the floors three times a day — and incinerate the mop heads afterward."

Which presumably makes the radioactivity go away? Is this like Area 51, when it's "burnt" it's ok? I still don't get why some people say the private nuclear industry is "unsafe" and "exploits workers". Looks like the government-owned one is out of control.

"Inside the concrete box, every scrap of radioactive waste is carried to its eventual tomb by a series of mechanical arms and lifts requiring no human touch. Databases and computers track every trace of radioactive material continuously in this paperless, sterile world."

These databases and computers presumably having been written by a freshman programming hamster over a weekend at the low, low cost of several million dollars.

"The GAO has had the NNSA on its “high-risk list” for fraud, waste and abuse in contracting and management since 1990."

Oh really. Sweetheart contracts ahoy.

"The George W. Bush administration’s solution to NNSA’s chronic problems was to transfer management of the national laboratories to profit-making corporations in 2008. Privatization was supposed to cut costs and boost efficiency, but GAO investigators and lawmakers say it is not clear that either has happened."

Maybe one should outsource to Pakistan?

Aarky

LMAO!! My suggestion was to send them to China and the work could be done for $ one billion.

peter vojta

What took them so long????Most importent job Internacional Zionism must do!!! Mankind needs new weapons of mass destruction so badly, anybody please help!!!! peter czech

Jason, seeking logical explanations for what the U.S. does is foolish. It is in love with its giant army and nothing else matters, nothing!

It's an Empirophile, one of the worst kind. At least the British Empire brought some benefits to those who were its subjects. The U.S. brings nothing but death and destruction.

curmudgeonvt

Maintaining a nuclear stockpile of 5100 is beyond logical and purely asinine. The "deterence" they desire would be accomplished with less than 20. Use one and the world will understand that regardless of provocation (supposed or real), the use of nuclear weapons is purely evil and entirely opposed to the continuation of the human race and the users of such weapons should be removed from the gene pool.

Johnny_Warbucks

There ya go. While at the same time, telling Iran that they can't have one for their own protection.

TooTrue

Meanwhile the unsafe 1960s-era GE fission reactor design will be re-certified in populous areas for another 50 years.

Was it just early this year that the top scientists said our nukes were safe for many years. Then Senator Kyl of Texas forced the issue of repairing them at the plant in Texas. Corruption reigns supreme.

lapchick

Just when you start to think that the USA could not get any worse in its' madness, here it is. $350 billion. Even if it is only 10% of this figure, the money could be used to feed most of the world, build water purification plants, cure disease. Maybe it is for this sort of reason that the USA is despised in most of the world.

Jeremy

Or let's have radioactivity ooze out all over our country and slowly begin infecting the air, thus causing environmental damage on a global scale. Not like Obama started the nuclear weapons program, but as president, he is responsible to maintain it. Not saying I support wmd's. But There are things that have to be done. We aren't using them. The upgrading is most likely just re-encasing them so they are more better sealed. But no, its fine. Complain some more.